The Conjuring Production Process

Mise-En-Scene

The conjuring is a 2013 horror film directed by James Wan staring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, produced by New Line Cinema.

In the opening sequence of The Conjuring the genre is set up through non-diegetic sound,

“Non-diegetic sound is any sound that the audience can hear but the characters on screen cannot” (http://collegefilmandmediastudies.com/film-sound-and-music/). This is played consistently through the credits in which there are historical pictures and names, which come up. It is played at a moderate speed and is unfaltering therefore this gives it a more sinister impact and gives the impression something dreadful has happened to the people in the photos. In this sequence there are also parts of daily paper articles indicating stories of families and pictures including stories that have titles like malevolence and evil. By showing these sorts of reports it intrigues the audience. The audience can also select text stating major themes for example “demonologist” and other words that the story will be based to clarify more about the plot. The textual style of the title in the opening credits of the film is a formal one that you might expect inside of a daily paper to do with this topic. In every one of the titles, a reliable text style is used which all the text in the film complies with. Every title is the same shading, either white or dark this gives a more expert appearance and it mirrors traditional styling of this genre as it gives a bold and overwhelming feel to the titles, however every title is situated differently and distinctively to sit the shot better.

Though the use of costumes we can identify that the Perron’s, who in the film are the subject of the hauntings are a normal family, which makes them relatable to the audience. This also makes the story more frightening as it makes the audience think it could be them this is happening to. The colours used in the ensembles are earthy as shown in the picture below which is closely linked to the 70s, (the time in which the true story took place) therefore affirming the time period. This greatly contrasts against the house which colours are very plain and gloomy therefore giving emphasis to the distressing situation as darkness dull colours we associated with death and decay. Death and decay is also represented In the poster of the movie, as the main focus on it is a tree that has lost all of its leaves, this represents death and this idea is followed through by the noose hanging on the tree also being symbolic of death. The picture also shows a shadow on the floor, of a figure swinging from the rope yet this figure hasn't appeared in the real photograph demonstrating the individual still wanders this area, and in the shadow this figure is wearing a dress proposing that it is a female.

Vera farmiga, the leading actress in the film depicts a tormented character (Lorraine Warren) in a authentic manner, she does this as she has played very similar characters to this in horror films such as “Orphan” where she played Kate. Both the main actors Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson “Insidious” visited Lorraine Warrens house to get ready for their parts. Lil Taylor who plays the possessed mother and Ron Livingston portray stressed people in a hopeless situation, this is shown in their dishevelled appearance and defeated performances.

Throughout the movie there is continuous non-diegetic low-level noise that's recurring throughout the full film when the characters are in the house. This puts the focus of the story the house, suggesting this is where the evil lives. It also makes the audience uncomfortable, as the low murmurs build sinister atmosphere making you believe at any minute something terrifying is about to happen.

A scene where colour is used effectively is mise-en-scene, is this scene in the basement where Carolyn has been completely controlled by Bathsheba (the malevolent force in the house), even alternate characters know Carolyn doesn't have any will or identity of her own in light of the fact that, in putting the White sheet over her they recognise that Carolyn has been deleted. This is because white makes us think of hospitals, which are sterile; she has also been erased as in in her voice recordings in a previous scene the mic does not pick her up. This fits in with the theory that Carolyn has lost her singularity because in wanting to have a family big home, she is no longer an individual.

Throughout the whole movie gender archetypes are reinforced, an example of this is the opening scene in which two women are talking whilst a man is sitting with them and does not talk at all. The supports the cliché that females tend to talk a great deal and men don't join in. The women are also seen to be exceptionally frightened while clarifying there experiences, their fear is displayed through their tone of voice. This also demonstrates the stereotypical attribute that women as the weaker sex a common theme in horror films, as the man always needs to rescue to women. We can translate the patriarchal belief systems from the opening scenes as the two women are in desperate need of help, from the paranormal investigators to protect them and fix their problems, which also ingrains the idea into the viewer that women are helpless, it can also establish attitudes of the time as it is set in the 1970s as deviation from gender roles has come along way since that time.

Inside the Annabelle scene of 'The Conjuring' the utilisation of non diegetic sound and diegetic sound “sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film: voices of characters. Sounds made by objects in the story” is successful. As at the beginning of the narrative there is a diegetic sound of a hush, that was sharp and loud the opposite of what you would imagine, therefore inferring someone may be in risk, in this way diegetic sound throughout The Conjuring tells us when to be afraid.

Above is a picture from The Conjuring in which a low angle shot is used when talking about the possessed doll Annabelle, this is in order to make the doll look intimidating and powerful, other classic horror films such as Scream use this technique. This shot is the first shot we see of Annabelle therefore the audience will be immediately afraid of the doll and throughout the movie.

A Point of view shot is created when one of the Perron daughters, looks around her room after she is awoken by something sinister. This makes the audience be put in the daughter’s position to see the room this stimulates fear into the audience as the story now involves them they are not just watching anymore. Whilst the daughter is looking around the room the audience will see that it is extremely dull blue, which traditionally in horror movies, suggests death and/or paranormal action- consequently the audience will know something paranormal is lurking in the shadows.

A point of view shot is also utilised as a part of the Annabelle scene of 'The Conjuring' as a strategy to make the audience the subject of what is happening in the scene. Additionally, there are different shots where the camera tracks the Warren daughter in the scene. These camera shots make the audience feel strained and uncomfortable, as they are then in the story living it. In the Annabelle scene of 'The Conjuring', after the daughter has been woken and starts to go down a few stairs, we find that the stairs the young lady is on are bright red. Which means risk.  This makes the audience feel sympathy. This exploits the purity that is frequently connected with young girls.